1. Technical Field
The present invention generally relates to computer systems and in particular to service oriented architecture in computer systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
The foundation of service oriented architectures (SOAs) are services. Consumers working with services of SOAs have little control over factors such as the number and organization of services. The available services are often narrowly focused on a niche segment of the business services. Focusing primarily on a niche segment of the business services is of limited value and may slow the adoption of business associated SOAs.
Existing methods for utilizing business-level services involve the consumer understanding each niche service and invoking the correct service, based on specifics of the business transaction. Narrowly focused services result in either complex or numerous business process execution language (BPEL) workflows. Niche services create a problem for the consumer, wherein the consumer has to manage additional processes.
Interaction patterns have been defined which address narrowly focused services. The facade, broker, and router patterns each provide a high-level architecture enabling a single entry point into many services. However, current techniques and methods for providing a single entry point into services are complicated and difficult to incorporate into existing business systems.